A German court has expressed doubts as to whether British-Swedish vaccine manufacturer AstraZeneca provided sufficient information about the side-effects of its Covid-19 vaccine.
The court in Bamberg in southern Germany is seeking an expert opinion on the matter, it announced on Monday at the start of the trial.
A 33-year-old German woman is suing the manufacturer for damages.
She had received the company's Vaxzevria vaccine in March 2021 and subsequently suffered from intestinal vein thrombosis. She went into a coma and ultimately had to have part of her intestine removed.
The Bamberg Higher Regional Court currently assumes that the plaintiff would not have had the vaccine if the risk of intestinal vein thrombosis had been presented in the manufacturer's product information.
The expert opinion serves to clarify "whether a presentation in the specialist information was required according to the state of scientific knowledge at the time."
The woman's lawyer, Volker Loeschner, described the court's decision as a partial victory. He added that the decision would also send a signal to other cases that courts cannot decide on this issue without an expert opinion.
A regional court in the city of Hof had previously dismissed the woman's claim, as it could not establish either a product defect or an information error in connection with the vaccine.
The woman appealed the decision.
She is demanding at least €250,000 ($273,000) in damages from AstraZeneca for pain and suffering, as well as €17,200 for loss of earnings and up to €600,000 for future impairment.
AstraZeneca's lawyers have so far ruled out a settlement with the plaintiff, referring to the ruling in the first instance.
